Heineken loses operational control of facilities in Congo's war-hit east

The Netherlands | Heineken has withdrawn its staff from its facilities in conflict-affected areas of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, having lost operational control, Reuters reported on 20 June.

Russia’s United Breweries aims to boost premium brands

Russia | United Breweries Holding (OPH), the former Heineken unit, seeks to increase the share of premium brands in its revenue to 40 percent this year, up from 30 percent in 2024 as part of the reformatting of its brand portfolio, the Russian news agency Interfax reported. New product launches shall contribute to the effort.

Non-alcoholic beer to become the world’s second most popular beer style

Germany | The sales of non-alcoholic beer have been growing in the two digit figures for the past two years. For brewers, these beers are a ray of hope. But so far non-alcoholic beers have not been able to stem the decline in beer consumption.

Western firms’ direct losses in Russia estimated at over USD 167 billion

Russia | Prior to the Ukraine war, Russia was a key market for many multinational firms. Due to sanctions, ethical concerns, and operational challenges, more than 1300 companies have reduced or ceased their operations. By March 2025, 475 companies had fully exited.

Austria | As Brau Union denies any wrong-doing and is in combat mood, it turned down the judge’s earlier offer of a settlement. Therefore, court proceedings over its alleged abuses of market dominance continued on 3 June. The first witness, a former beer distributor, raised the curtain and got things going.

Heineken cannot force retailer Jumbo to re-list its products, judge says

The Netherlands | A legal setback for Heineken: the supermarket group Jumbo may continue to refrain from purchasing Heineken products. This was ruled by the Oost-Brabant court in summary proceedings on 22 May. Heineken had filed summary proceedings against Jumbo in early May because many of the Dutch group's beers had disappeared from the shelves over a pricing dispute - after some sixty years of partnership.

Czech beer exports rise while domestic consumption declines

Czech Republic | According to figures from the Czech Breweries and Maltsters Association, beer production in 2024 hit a 15 year high. Czech breweries produced 4.2 percent more beer than in 2023, to reach 20.9 million hl.

AB-InBev-Efes launches iced tea in Russia

Russia | Russia's largest brewer, AB-InBev-Efes has started to make Zeno iced tea in two flavours, green tea and black lemon tea, the newspaper Kommersant reported in May. AB-InBev-Efes, which was put under interim administration by Russian President Vladimir Putin in December 2024, is thus pushing further into the soft drinks market amid flat beer sales. The soft drinks are produced in facilities in Omsk and Ivanovo.

Trappist abbey and brewery Maria Toevlucht may close

The Netherlands | The Dutch are set to lose one of their two Trappist breweries. The Noord-Brabant abbey Maria Toevlucht (Mary of Refuge) in Zundert will close as there are too few monks to sustain a community, Dutch media reported on 14 May.

AB-InBev’s first quarter: profit up, volume sales down

Belgium | People around the world are drinking less beer, at least that by AB-InBev. And yet the group, on 8 May, reported first-quarter net profit of USD 2.15 billion, nearly twice what it was a year ago. Revenue was up 1.5 percent year-over-year to USD 13.6 billion, but volume sales were down 2.2 percent.